We agreed to set sail, so you'd become the ruler of the deep sea?

Chapter 341 Archbishop in White—Musa! Goodbye, Mr. Heller!

Not long after.

Lewis, Nana, Daisy and her brother, and others also came to the side of the battle-damaged ship.

Looking at the ship's wrecked state, everyone fell silent.

It is conceivable that there were many more victims like this on this ship.

If they hadn't encountered the Black Swan, the entire Dragon Pirate Crew would likely have perished here.

In this dangerous Far North, even Xia En couldn't say for sure that he would be safe and sound.

Not to mention the other, slightly weaker ships in the Far North Expeditionary Force.

After a moment of silence, Nana looked at the empty tombstone and asked.

"Aren't you going to leave something on this monument?"

Xia En thought about it and felt it made sense.

Although he was a complete stranger to these people and did not know their identities, he should leave something behind to prove that they had been here.

So, Xia En inscribed on the monument—

Gravesites of members of the Far Northern Expeditionary Force

Then, Shane turned around and said.

"Let's go. We must stop the second great flood so that their sacrifices are not in vain."

Everyone nodded emphatically: "Yes!"

……

……

Soon, another two days passed.

At this time, Princess Anbing of the Great Yan Kingdom was still unconscious and had not yet woken up.

Anbing remained unconscious for a little longer than Xia En had expected, but according to Jane's examination, her vital signs were very stable and there was no danger to her life.

Jane speculated that the reason she hadn't woken up yet was less because she "couldn't" and more because she "didn't want to"!
After learning that cruel truth.

Perhaps in Dark Ice's subconscious, she was resisting waking up, which is why she hasn't been able to wake up yet.

Even Jane didn't have a good solution to this.

The human soul and consciousness are the most mysterious and intricate realms. Awakening them rashly in a special way might cause some irreversible damage.

However, I imagine that when we reach the Lord of Cinder, we will surely find a way to awaken him.

Although Xia En was slightly disappointed that he could not get any information about the past of the Great Yan Kingdom from An Bing.

But compared to intelligence and information, the safety of his brothers' women was clearly more important.

In addition, along the way, Shane encountered several abandoned warships and several battlefields that had witnessed bloody battles.

They may have hit the ice and been unable to move forward.

Or perhaps, like the previous ship, it was surrounded by terrifying monsters on the ice plains, and after a fierce battle, all the crew members were wiped out.

Among these ships, Shane even spotted the presence of the Federal Navy!
Clearly, as the main force of the Far North Expeditionary Force, the Federation Navy has begun a protracted war with the monsters on the ice plains.

Xia En and his crew all sensed that the cold wind blowing around them seemed to carry an aura of killing intent and bloodshed.

In more distant places, the roar of artillery could be heard from time to time.

The appearance of these abandoned warships and the changes made Shane and the others realize—

This is a war!
The enemies of the Far North Expeditionary Force are not any specific country or faction.

Rather, it is the harsh environment of the Far North and the ancient undead that roam the ice plains.

Also known as.

This is a war between humanity and the traces left by the ancient gods on this land.

The only good news is...

That probably means that in the past few days, Xia En and his group have not been pursued by any rebels from the Black Flame Walkers.

Based on Shane's guess.

This is probably because even the rebels didn't expect that they could awaken Dark Ice even after the [Fire Seed] was stolen.

This led to the rebels making a misjudgment, thus failing to pinpoint the location of Shane and the others.

One step at a time, one step at a time!

It is now extremely difficult for the rebels to catch up with the Black Swan.

……

……

And that morning.

As the Black Swan broke through the ice, it opened up a channel across the ice field.

As usual, Shane patrolled the deck of the Black Swan.

Suddenly, his gaze was drawn to a scene on the ice field not far away.

Suddenly, white dots appeared one after another on the vast, boundless ice field.

They seemed to emerge from cracks in the ice sheet, one after another, in astonishing numbers.

It quickly changed from a white dot to a white line.

If viewed from above, one might see ugly patches on the ice sheet resembling vitiligo.

At the same time, a series of continuous roars came from afar.

This unusual change immediately attracted the attention of the crew on the Black Swan and other ships.

"What it is?"

"It looks so weird!"

"It feels like it's similar to the Yeti we encountered before..."

The sailors on the frigate immediately started discussing among themselves.

On the deck of the Black Swan, String Song's eyesight far surpassed that of ordinary humans, allowing her to see the true form of those strange white dots more clearly.

At first glance.

They do indeed resemble the hairy yeti that Shane and his companions encountered.

Their surfaces were covered with a layer of something that looked like white fur.

However, this time the monster that appeared had no human form at all.

They resembled eerie tentacles made of white hair, constantly emerging from beneath the ice and surging wildly in a certain direction.

It's like a spider web magnified many times over, encompassing most of the ice field into this enormous spider web.

"hiss……"

After seeing the true appearance of the white dot, Xiange couldn't help but gasp and get goosebumps all over her body.

"What is that? It looks disgusting!"

Yes, disgusting.

That's the feeling you get from the presence of those white, tentacle-like hairs.

It's as if their very existence is a desecration of life!
Or perhaps they are products created specifically to destroy life.

"Another [filthy creature]..."

Xia En frowned slightly, his expression serious.

[Filthy Creature]

This was his name for these strange beings, tainted by "filthy secret power," existing somewhere between the living and the dead.

Previous creatures such as the "Filthy Sea Heir," the Ice Crystal Monster, the Yeti, and even the current White-haired Tentacles can all be categorized under this type of creature.

It's a general term that Xia En came up with.

However, it was different from the other types of [filthy creatures] I had encountered.

The white tentacles on the distant ice field gave Shane an extremely dangerous feeling.

A single tentacle is certainly not scary.

But what if... those tentacles are a single entity, and they are merely part of the body of something beneath the ice?
If that's the case, just how enormous would that being be?
Thinking of this, even Xia En couldn't help but feel a chill.

At this moment, Jane also came out of the cabin and came to Shane.

“That is…” Jane looked at the white tentacles on the ice field with a solemn expression.

"Captain Shane, they seem to be converging in one direction!"

"……Um?"

Upon hearing this, Xia En's expression changed slightly.

After observing carefully for a moment, he found that Jane's judgment was quite correct.

Those white tentacles visibly gathered towards the north, as if something in that direction was calling to them.

"Wait, the north?"

Xia En immediately frowned.

The northernmost part of the Far North is precisely the headquarters of the Far North Expeditionary Force, and the location of the legendary Great Flood.

The more crucial question is—

Is it only these special white tentacles that are doing this, or are all the [filthy creatures] converging on the northernmost part of the world?

If it's the former, that's fine, but if it's the latter...

Just imagining the scene of countless different kinds of "filthy creatures" surging in sent chills down Shane's spine.

That strange [Filthy Secret Power] can only be countered by a secret power of the same level.

Otherwise, it would be a catastrophic disaster for ordinary secret cultivators!
This is similar to the beast tide in the [Rhine Secret Realm], but it is not even in the same league or on the same level.

Suddenly at this moment.

Jane's expression changed as she looked towards the center of the wave of tentacles and spoke up to warn them.

"Captain Shane, an extremely strong, unidentified aura has appeared!"

"Oh no...not just one!"

Xia En followed her gaze.

Suddenly, a blazing, bright light burst forth from nowhere above the ice field.

Immediately afterwards, an elderly man dressed in a white robe with gold patterns emerged from the light.

He was tall and thin, with sparse white hair, and possessed a serene and dignified air.

Xia En was no stranger to this old man.

He had seen the other person more than once in the Land of Radiance.

Musa, the white-robed archbishop of the Faith Church!
At this moment, after taking a step forward, Musa's eyes swept lightly over the tentacles beneath him, and he sighed.

"What a filthy and disgusting sight..."

"Let the radiance purify all of this."

But, right now.

A soft cough came from beside him.

"Cough cough, old man, your radiance is too bright and too smelly, it's hurting my eyes."

"Quickly clean up the mess."

If anyone heard this title, they would probably be so shocked that their eyes would pop out.

This is the white-robed archbishop of the Hui Church. Who on earth is so bold as to call him "old man"?

This dismissive tone is enough to show that he not only has no respect for Musa, but also stands on a somewhat opposing side.

Musa was not angry at the man's rude attitude; he simply turned his head to look at him.

"To be honest, the fishy smell of the deep sea on you is really a bit overwhelming."

"Next time you appear in front of me, could you please take a shower beforehand?"

Surely someone from the [Deepest Sect] wouldn't be so lacking in basic manners?

Standing in the shadow of Musa's brilliance was a tall, slender man with a gentlemanly air.

He had messy, seaweed-like black hair, a strange black tattoo on his cheek that looked like some kind of mollusk, and he wore an old-fashioned suit.

When Xia En saw him from a distance, he couldn't help but look surprised.

Isn't this the "Mr. Heller" I met several times in the [Islands of Chaos]?

After observing him closely for a moment, Shane discovered that he seemed quite different from the Mr. Heller he remembered.

First, there's the aura emanating from him.

Mr. Heller, though he gave Shane a feeling of unfathomable depth, was someone who had previously been known as Mr. Heller.

But Xia En was certain that at that time, he had absolutely not reached the level of a legend.

Come to think of it, if the Federation Navy knew that a legendary figure was stationed in the [Rampage Islands], they certainly wouldn't treat it with such an ordinary attitude.

But this "Mr. Heller" gives Shane the feeling that he can rival Musa.

In other words, he is at least a legendary powerhouse!
It's not even an ordinary legend.

Secondly, there's his demeanor and his clothing.

The Heller from the Chaos Isles was even more composed and gloomy, like a bottomless abyss.

At this point, "Mr. Heller" appeared somewhat nonchalant and frivolous.

Of course, that could just be a facade he's putting on.

And his suit, it seems, has changed from light gray to black...

Regardless, seeing these two familiar faces in the Cold Sea filled Xia En with a mixture of surprise and complex emotions.

After all, his aura had once caused the two of them to have a certain "misunderstanding," mistakenly believing that he was a "holy son" or something similar in their sect.

If it gets exposed, wouldn't the situation be very awkward?
At the same time, Xia En was also somewhat curious.

Why are these two here together?

They could represent the [Radiant Cult] and the [Deepest Cult] respectively; they couldn't possibly be here to argue on this icy plain, could they?

Meanwhile, Musa and Heller's conversation continued.

Heller continued Musa's words.

"For some pretentious guys, I think some formalities are completely unnecessary."

Musa sneered, "Who are you calling a pretentious jerk?"

"They're clearly just a bunch of lunatics following some giant beast in the deep sea, yet they dare to call themselves 'masters' or 'sacred'?"

Heller retorted without backing down, "Is a certain cult that believes in glory any better?"

"Who knows, this guy with the faith might actually be an evil god who wants to destroy the entire world!"

"you!"

A flash of anger crossed Musa's eyes.

But just as he was about to continue speaking...

Below, the white tentacles seemed to finally be unable to bear being ignored by the two and began to stir wildly.

Click... click...

The ice continued to shatter, and white-haired tentacles tore through the ice surface, shooting into the sky and sweeping towards Musa and his companion.

A closer look reveals that beneath the white fur are hidden bloodied human faces.

Each face bore the marks of burns, and bore the marks of extreme pain and hatred.

Faintly, they could still be heard muttering and cursing.

However, neither Musa nor Heller showed any change in expression in the face of this horrific scene.

Musa glanced at the tentacles indifferently, a pale golden light shining from his eyes.

laugh--

Two beams of light burst forth from his eyes, sweeping across his white tentacles like lasers.

Any tentacle that came into contact with the light turned into blood-red steam in less than half a second.

Heller simply waved his hand dismissively.

Countless black tentacles, even more profound than the white tentacles, emerged from the shadows, intertwining and tearing at each other with the white tentacles.

The black and white colors kept blending together, and gradually black took the lead...

(End of this chapter)